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TRENTON
- Attorney General Zulima V. Farber and
Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory
A. Paw announced that a West Orange plastic
surgeon has pleaded guilty to theft by deception
for twice making false claims that he was
totally disabled from the practice of plastic
surgery and entitled to obtain disability
benefits from an insurance company.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Greta Gooden Brown, W. Lance Kollmer, 57,
of Northgate Road, Mendham, Morris County,
a plastic surgeon licensed to practice in
New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Superior
Court Judge Joseph C. Cassini III in Essex
County to two counts of second degree theft
by deception contained in a state grand
jury indictment returned on October 12,
2004. Second-degree crimes carry a sentence
of up to 10 years in state prison and a
criminal fine of up to $150,000. Kollmer
also faces civil insurance fraud fines.
This matter will be referred to the New
Jersey Board of Medical Examiners for any
action it deems appropriate. Kollmer’s
medical license was previously suspended.
At the guilty plea hearing on May 8, Kollmer
admitted that in 1999 he submitted a false
disability claim to Sentry Insurance Company
under a business overhead expense policy
for the expenses associated with running
his medical practice. Kollmer claimed that
he was disabled and unable to perform surgery.
An investigation conducted by the Division
of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor revealed that Kollmer continued
to perform surgery during the time he claimed
he was doing no surgeries. Most of the surgeries
were reconstructive procedures performed
on trauma victims in various hospital emergency
rooms.
Kollmer also admitted that in 2001 he submitted
a second false disability claim to U.S.
Life/American General Insurance Company.
He again sought reimbursement for office
overhead expenses associated with his medical
practice and benefits under a separate long-term
disability policy, alleging he sustained
a totally disabling injury to his rotator
cuff in a volleyball game on March 13, 2001,
approximately one month before he surrendered
his license to practice
medicine.
The investigation conducted by the Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined
that Kollmer sustained the injury to his
rotator cuff in or about May 2001, after
he surrendered his license to practice medicine,
at a time when he was no longer covered
under his disability policies. As a result
of these false claims, Kollmer admitted
collecting approximately $925,000 from Sentry
and U.S. Life/American.
“It
is particularly troubling that a person
licensed to practice medicine and surgery
would steal from insurance companies,”
said Fraud Prosecutor Brown. “This
type of insurance fraud raises costs for
doctors as well as patients.”
State Investigators Lisa Shea and Janet
Wustefeld, Civil Investigators George Douglas
and Chris Gasbarro, Administrative Analysts
Kathleen Ratliff and Paula Carter, and Deputy
Attorney General Michael A. Monahan handled
the case for the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor.
Kollmer is scheduled to be sentenced by
Judge Cassini on July 10, 2006.
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